All Eyes On Neeraj Chopra & Odisha’s Kishore Jena At Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium

Bhubaneswar: As the Kalinga Stadium prepares to host the prestigious 27th National Federation Senior Athletics meet here from Sunday, all eyes are on the javelin competition.

Not only because India’s pride Neeraj Chopra will be competing in an event on Indian soil for the first time since striking gold at the Tokyo Olympics, but adding to the excitement is the healthy rivalry that is developing between him and Odisha’s Kishore Jena.

Jena, who ran Chopra close in the 2022 Asian Games before settling for silver medal with a personal best of 87.54 metres, will have the local crowd rooting for him even as he competes against his redoubtable rival.

Both having qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, they will look to warm up in style.

For those who are still trying to book an Olympic berth, the four-day meet will be their last chance to qualify.

The country’s top quarter-milers, having booked 4x400m Paris relay berths at the just-concluded World Athletics Relay meet in Bahamas, will try to go all out in the individual 400m event.

“Will be running the individual 400m here in Odisha to improve my world ranking,” said Amoj Jacob.

The 400m qualification round is scheduled for May 14, with the finals on May 15.

Muhammad Ajmal (men), Jyothika Sri Dandi and Subha V (women) will also be seen in action at Kalinga Stadium.

The four-day competition will bring together more than 700 athletes, including some from Bangladesh and Maldives.